During the Ride I answered a number of questions and it was
suggested to me that we have a Q & A section so these sort
of questions can be found along with the answer. We have never
had the type of question that warranted a section such as this
but I discussed it with a couple of Admins and we decided to
add it this year. More will be added over time.
Christina Hyke:
Are there horse/rider teams that have done the entire ride start
to finish, or is this more of a relay picking up riders in each
new day
Gloria Hazell Derby:
The horses do get 'swapped out' every so many miles. I don't
think we have ever had any that do the whole 330 miles. Yes
more riders and horses do join in along the way especially at
Flandreau and Morton areas. By the time they go through Mankato
for the Ceremonies you will notice there are a lot of horses
and riders. Also the runners from Fort Snelling join the Riders
there.
Curtis Griesel:
how many people participate in the ride each day?
Gloria Hazell Derby:
Curtis Griesel, It depends. What you don't see is the caravan
of support people who drive the horses and riders around when
they are not actually riding. I have no idea how many there
are this year but I have heard there is quite a lot! The ones
you see are usually Keith, and Josette who run the Chuck wagon
and deal with all sorts of things that happen along the route,
they are joined by various people each day every year, Clayton
Mann and Ruth Matzke Anderson and I believe, photographer, Nina
Fox are all helping this year.
The riders change every few miles
and have a rest as do the horses, More will be joining the Ride
from now until Mankato so the numbers change again. In the towns
they go to, the townsfolk work on getting the food together
for the People and making sure the horses are bedded down properly.
They are all volunteers, as are we working on this group, there
are 10 of us this year, all doing our own job to keep the group
working, Then there are the photographers who keep the Ride
alive in photos and videos. I think we get about 100 different
people sending them in each year, then there is Ron making up
the collages of photos each day for you all to enjoy.. If I
have forgotten anyone please forgive me...
Curtis Griesel:
Gloria Hazell Derby thank you. Do you know if there is a
public event planned on the 26th when the group arrives in Mankato?
Gloria Hazell Derby:
They all meet up at Reconciliation Park in Mankato, the riders
and the runners from Fort Snelling, and then Ceremonies are
done there.
The First Unitarian Society of
Minneapolis then lays on lunch at 1 pm for them at the New Creation
Church.
Juliette Wica Ke Sa:
Where are they heading now??
I seen a post where I thought they was coming to Wounded Knee?
Maybe I read it wrong.. OK. Thanks for the info.
Gloria Hazell Derby:
They will go to Pipestone in Minnesota tomorrow. No that is
the Big Foot Ride that is going on in SD at the same time as
ours. The Big Foot Ride goes west, ours goes east. You're welcome!
A few people asked this question:
When the Ride goes past me
what should I do?
Gloria Hazell Derby:
The most important thing to do is be Respectful. Wait and watch,
they may be praying quietly at the moment they pass you, and
so won't probably even know that you are there. Don't take it
as an insult. To most of the Riders, prayer is very special,
and they actually carry a pouch with names of people in it that
people want prayers said for. These can be for various reasons.
Only the Rider knows when he or she is going to pray.
Again this question is asked
a lot:
What time does the World wide
prayer session start?
Gloria Hazell Derby:
It starts at 4 pm Central time, that would equate to 10 pm Grenwich
Mean Time. You can stay in the prayer time for a few minutes
or longer if you wish to. I am sure people come to it later,
and so if you stay then you will be joining up with more as
some leave and others join you. You can pray in whichever way
you want to, regular prayer, meditation, thought, Pipe, nothing
is wrong as long as it is respectful
This is a big one...
What time do the ceremonies
start at Reconciliation Park?
Gloria Hazell Derby:
Well the time of the hangings was 10 am, and so the Riders like
to be there for then. Sometimes the runners from Fort Snelling
arrive late, and so as a mark of respect to the runners, (who
have run from Fort Snelling during the night), the Ceremonies
are held off until everyone is there. But get there for 10 am.
Again this has been asked by a number of people
What is the Riderless horse
all about?
Gloria Hazell Derby:
The horse that is usually in the front, being led by the Front
rider, is known as the Spirit Horse. It is riderless because
it is offering the saddle to the Spirits. We have been told
by a Spiritual Leader in the early days of the Ride that both
Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull rode along with the Ride in South
Dakota using the Spirit Horse. It often carries Tobacco ties,
the Prayer Pouch and anything else that is deemed Spiritual.
It is not always the same horse, they take it in turns. The
horse at the time of doing this role is very sacred, prayers
should always be said around it, and it should always be respected.
It is an honor to lead the Spirit Horse.
We were asked why only 2 Horses
and Riders sometimes.
This is because often only a couple of Rider's go out, especially
in bad weather, between stopping points, which are around a
couple of miles each. It is not good for the horse to travel
too far in the bad weather and certainly the Rider has to be
experienced and weather worn to do it as well.
At each stopping point the horses
can be switched out so another one can have a go, and often
the Rider is switched as well. The past few years the weather
has not been too bad and so that is why people are used to seeing
a lot of Riders going out. This year so far it has been fridgid
and windy, Wilfred, as the leader and staff carrier, would not
let inexperienced horses or riders go out in such bad weather.
They always have an escort vehicle driving next to them
for safety reasons.